Everlasting Flame
by Avatar Luna
Summary: A series of oneshots for my best friend. Zuko and Katara act as though they hate each other around their friends, but together they have their own little relationship that slowly develops. Please review!
1. Restless

Okay…so some of you may know (or not know) that I am a Zutara shipper, as is my best friend, nightmarereaper (her penname.). So, in honor of her, I have decided to write a series of oneshots related to Zutara. So, here's to you, Lay, thanks for being my best friend and I miss you. Damn Florida! xD I hope we see each other soon. Think of these stories as my late birthday/Chanukah presents to you!

So, here goes nothing.

1 – Restless

"Katara!" Sokka's voice rang through their campsite. Katara groaned. After an exhausting and stressful two weeks of helping Aang out, she wasn't sure she could take any more pressure. The blue-eyed girl stood unwillingly and trudged over to Sokka's tent. When she looked inside, Sokka was holding a jar.

"I can't open it," he complained. "The top hates me."

Katara, hissing through her teeth, took the jar and broke the top off violently. That was enough to piss her off for the moment; Sokka's stupidity. Sokka simply stayed where he was, looking at her with wide eyes. He didn't know what her problem was, so he returned to what he was doing.

"A freaking jar!" Katara cried out to herself later, as she sat in her tent, isolated from the other members of their little group. "That moron couldn't open a stupid jar…he's fifteen, damn him…he really needs to try thinking sometimes."

She was absolutely sure all this stress and pressure was getting to her head, slowly making its way through her body. She had been practicing Waterbending with Aang, something that he still needed the slightest bit of work on. Now she was barely able to lift up some drops of water due to all the fatigue. She needed rest, but she knew that with Sokka, Aang, Toph and Zuko around, nothing was going to get easier, and she would still have to play the mother figure to the group.

Outside there was a loud scream that sounded an awful lot like Toph. Right after was a loud scream of "Katara!"

Katara whimpered quietly and curled herself into a ball, not knowing how much more she could take. She rocked herself back and forth for a while, until someone climbed into the tent."

"I don't care who you are, but if you're Sokka you can go and open your jars yourself," Katara snapped. When she turned, however, Zuko was standing behind her. Trying to smile, she waved to him.

"How are you?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. She pushed it off.

"What does it matter to you? I'm fine," she growled.

"No, you're not," Zuko muttered. "Tell me what's up."

Katara stubbornly shook her head, as if to say 'no,' but Zuko grasped her hand gently.

"Please tell me?" he whispered. "I just want to help."

Right about then Katara gave in to his pleading. She gripped his hand tighter and sighed, ready to tell him about all that had happened.

"Look, Zuko," she said quietly, "I'm just feeling stressed. I have to help Aang train, clean up after Sokka and Toph, and make sure you don't get angry at Aang, or he doesn't get mad at you." Seeing his face, she muttered, "You know you'll fight with him."

"It's really stressing me out though!" she cried. "I have no free time, no time to rest or anything! I haven't slept in a week! It's starting to wear me out."

She let a few tears fall down her face, and Zuko put a comforting arm around her.

"It's alright," he said. "I'll go outside, take care of Sokka and Toph's scuffle, and help Aang with some Firebending instead. You can sleep. Is that alright?"

Katara nodded gratefully, and laid down. Zuko smiled and left the tent. Katara didn't hear anything else happen after that.

The next day, Sokka was yelling and running around.

"Katara's still sleeping!" he yelled. "It's almost noon! What should we do? She's been out for almost a day now!"

"Leave her be, Sokka," Zuko muttered. "It's better for us. Once she's better she'll nag us again."

The two teenagers laughed as they heard a quiet "shut up" from Katara's tent.

"You're really kind to her," Sokka told Zuko, and Zuko nodded. They both started cleaning up so they wouldn't have to deal with it later.

Katara was able to get some sleep with no disturbances. She dreamed of things yet to come, and slept with a smile on her face.

All because of a boy with a scar on one eye and a kind heart.

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There you go. It's not my favorite (took me about 30 minutes to write) but it'll do. I love you, Lay! Hope you like this! Please review!


	2. Don't Tell Me You're Sorry

Okie-dokie! Here's number two. Katara can't find Zuko in the woods. And why is he out later than usual? And what's Katara so angry about? Okay…yeah. Enjoy!

2 - Don't Tell Me You're Sorry, 'Cause You're Not.

Katara stirred in her sleep. It had been a long day for the young Waterbender; she had helped Aang train all day. But she knew with a good night's rest she would be alright. She heard a rustling noise from outside; Zuko, she assumed. He always walked around in the middle of the night, wandering and staring up at the sky. Some nights she would go outside and insist that he come back and get some rest. Most of those times, he simply refused her request politely and headed off into the woods.

It was those times, though, that Katara worried about Zuko. She had always been there for him, since he proved to her that he wasn't all bad. The two became close friends, nearly always together. And Katara was grateful to have him. She wondered, though, if he was grateful to have her.

The wind raged outside, and Katara shuddered, not only from the cold, but from her own worry.

She sighed. It was getting late, and Zuko hadn't returned. She stood and walked outside. An enormous gust of wind nearly swept Katara off her feet. She shivered and, rubbing her arms, set off into the woods to look for Zuko.

Katara wished she still had her coat from the Water Tribes. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and she could feel frost blowing in the wind. She rubbed her hands together in order to obtain warmth, but she couldn't get anything out of the effort. She shivered once more and continued her search for Zuko.

Somewhere, deep in the woods, she heard a small crash and a loud "Damn this!" Recognizing the voice as Zuko's, she raced further into the woods until she reached him. He was sitting on a rock and had his face in his hands. Katara slowly walked over and put a hand on his arm.

"Was that you I heard just now?" she asked.

"Most likely," he replied, not looking up, but straight forward.

"Why did you yell?" she asked him.

"Are you sure you won't murder me?" he said, looking at her questioningly.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug.

Instead, Zuko lifted up a small blue stone. It was broken into two pieces. Katara examined it for a moment, and with a gasp, put a finger to her neck.

The necklace was gone.

Immediately she stood up and ran back to her tent, furious. _How could he?_ She thought angrily. _It's not like him! Zuko would never break something so special._ But he had, and she couldn't get that thought out of her head. Silently she cried herself to sleep.

The next morning, before everyone else was awake, she felt a hand slightly brush her forehead.

"Come outside," a voice whispered. "I have to show you something." And then whoever it had been retreated. Katara sat up, pulled on her shoes and crawled out of the tent. She wasn't surprised to see Zuko standing in front of her. Her eyes narrowed.

"What do you want?" she snapped, tears immediately welling up in her eyes. "This had better be important."

"Katara, I'm sorry for breaking your necklace," he said simply.

"Cut the crap, Zuko," she replied, "I know you did it and there's nothing more to it."

"Really, Katara, I'm sorry-"

"Don't tell me you're sorry, because you're not!" Katara yelled at him. "You broke my mother's necklace, which, by the way, means a lot to me! How could you do it?"

He walked over to her and put his arms around her.

"I was fixing it," he told her, as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "The stone fell. But I can make it up to you."

Katara looked up from his chest. She was about to ask him how, but he placed the necklace into her hand. When she took a glance at it, she saw the stone put back together, dangling from a new ribbon.

"The old ribbon was breaking, so I was trying to replace it," Zuko explained. "Then the stone fell, and broke, but I put it back together." He sighed. "Can you forgive me?"

Katara didn't notice that she was crying, but she nodded.

"Thank you so much, Zuko," she said. "This means so much to me."

"I'm glad it does," he responded, "I'm glad it does."

Meanwhile, just as Katara and Zuko were returning, they heard Sokka yelling.

"Okay, Katara, where are my pants? These aren't my pants!"

Zuko kicked a small lump behind the boulder next to him, and Katara snickered. The two looked at each other once, and burst into a fit of laughter.

Accidents happen, Katara realized, and if someone truly loves you, they'll be willing to make it up to you.

There you go! I know it's not as good as it could be, as I wrote it at the most inappropriate of times (11:30 at night; 5:30 AM). I hope you liked it.

Me: Eh. It sucked.

Katara: Why am I always so angsty?

Zuko: I thought I was the angsty one.

Sokka: Shut up, you're both angsty. WHERE ARE MY PANTS?


End file.
